If you are struggling in tech right now, this is for you. I get some version of this message almost every day:
Is it just me or does the tech job market feel impossible right now?.
It is not just you. I have been in this industry for 12 years, and I have seen multiple cycles, from the ‘growth at all costs’ era to today, where every headcount is scrutinized. Even as a Principal, I have had to re-learn how to prove my value. In fact, I just finished my own annual performance review at my day job (phewww). In my opinion, the market is not dead; it is being reshaped, and that process is seriously uncomfortable for all of us.
The Great Tech Reshaping: Data Over Headlines
Let’s look at the data, not just the headlines. More than 320,000 tech workers have been laid off in the last 18 months. 1 But here is the part the news misses: overall tech hiring is actually up by roughly 8% year-over-year. 2 The hiring is just happening in different places: AI, data infrastructure, and cloud.
Why does it feel harder on the ground?
It’s the result of Triple Correction with three forces hitting at the same time. First, companies are still adjusting to the post-COVID over-hiring of 2020–2022, when many companies hired aggressively based on forever growth forecasts that simply did not come true. Second, the era of free money is over. With capital now expensive, investors are prioritizing profitability over headcount, so every role has to justify itself in real dollars. Third, companies are pivoting hard toward AI, shifting budgets away from broad generalist hiring and into AI infrastructure designed to make teams leaner. This phenomenon is what I like to call the Triple Correction, and it is why reported growth barely reflects in the job market.
I recently talked to Pooja Dutt, a software engineer with 3+ years of experience at Microsoft. She applied to 25 roles and received two callbacks but no job offers. That is an 8% callback rate and a 0% offer rate, even with Big Tech on her resume.
Over the years, I have learned that seniority is not always a shield. Even at the Principal level, the stress of proving it never quite goes away. This is why generic career advice does not work anymore. As we head into 2026, your strategy has to change from “applying for roles” to “solving business problems.”
How to Move Differently in 2026
If the market is growing by 8%, your goal is to make sure you are in that 8%. Here is how I’m advising my mentees to think about their strategy:
- For Interns & Juniors: The ‘Junior Hiring Crisis’ is real because AI is great at entry-level tasks. To win a 2026 internship or an entry-level role, you have to be an Integrator. Don’t just show a portfolio of code; show a ‘Proof of Concept’ that solves a specific business or product problem with or without using AI. Prove you can ship.
- For Seniors: Your “X Years of Experience” is a great start, but it’s no longer enough. Hiring managers are looking for scrappiness. They want to know you can lead a lean team and tie your work directly to the bottom line, whether through cost savings or faster shipping times. Lead the team and work that moves the bottom line at scale.
A final note
If you are not landing interviews right now, please believe me when I say it is not a reflection of your intelligence. It is timing. It is hard, but it is temporary.
🔗 Let’s Connect
I hope you enjoyed reading this! If you want to see more content from me, I regularly post on YouTube, LinkedIn and more social channels at sundaskhalid.com.
✨ What’s New with me?
The last few weeks have been full in a good way. I spent time in Paris and Dubai giving a keynote at the Function1 AI conference, with trips to the Bay Area and LA in between. I have been growing the business side of my content creation. I hired a new member, and I am still hiring for more. I built two courses, one of which has already launched: 5 Data Scientist Hands-on Projects. More to come on the second one. I took a much needed break over the holidays and starting the new year refreshed and inspired.
1 Layoffs.fyi (Global Tech Layoff Tracking)
2 Dice Career Advice (Tech Job Market 2025/2026 Research), IDC Future of Work Vision 2025, IDC Future of Work Vision 2025, Financial Express, CNBC, and Economic Times Market Analysis